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Help Grading a 1879 Morgan Dollar Redux (Nice Pics)

harbonharbon Posts: 59
in U.S. Coin Forum
I posted a thread a few days ago asking for opinions on the grade/condition of one of my Morgans (since I'm new at grading coins), so I could get a general idea for my set.

The pictures I posted were pretty bad, but after reading a thread about calibrating digital cameras for the best coin images, I think I got some pretty nice shots.

Here it is:

Oh, and the rim looks a little funky in both images because I was trying to cut it out of a background. The rims are whole and complete as far as I can see.


image
image

(edit: made them considerably smaller, sorry about their hugeness before).

Comments

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    razorface1027razorface1027 Posts: 4,242 ✭✭
    Alot of field chatter with flat devices on the obverse. Appears cleaned though. PCGS would B.B. it. NGC would do the same. ANACS would net grade it at AU...MAYBE.image
    What is money, in reality, but dirty pieces of paper and metal upon which privilege is stamped?
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    K6AZK6AZ Posts: 9,295 ✭
    AU details, cleaned. Sorry.
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    PlacidPlacid Posts: 11,299 ✭✭✭
    image

    It was probably MS until someone scrubbed the heck out of it image
    In ms63 the 79p is about a $40 coin so no great loss.
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    DorkGirlDorkGirl Posts: 9,994 ✭✭✭
    Very nice pictures!!! Too bad about the cleaning, but she's a nice AU coin. You are going to find that it is sometimes very difficult to find Morgans from old collections that haven't been "shined up". I think they cleaned their coins along with the silverware. image
    Becky
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    nwcsnwcs Posts: 13,386 ✭✭✭
    Good photo, shows the coin accurately. AU details , very harshly cleaned.
    Blog and Pics
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    MyqqyMyqqy Posts: 9,777 ✭
    There are so many morgans out there, so when it comes to 95% of the dates, you can easily find unmolested original coins once you know how to spot the cleaned pieces. Read up on grading, and look at as many morgans as you can to get a feel for what looks good and what looks "pfunny"...
    image
    My style is impetuous, my defense is impregnable !
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    harbonharbon Posts: 59
    Hmm, well thats a shame indeed! image
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    harbonharbon Posts: 59
    Okay I've checked out some of the others I had, and some show similar signs and others show less similar signs.

    This one, obverse reverse, for example, seems to have less abrasiveness on it. There seems to be signs of it, though (I think).

    But on an 1878 CC I have, obverse reverse, there doesn't seem to be any (could just be because it wasn't in wonderful condition already?).

    There was a website that had some extensive info on grading morgans (made by a person who browses the forums I think). I could have sworn that I bookmarked it, but I don't seem to have it. Anyone have the link?

    Sorry I'm very new at actually grading the coins, and I don't really have an eye for it (yet) image. Thanks for the input, btw.
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    K6AZK6AZ Posts: 9,295 ✭
    Those two have been cleaned as well.

    I believe this is the site you are looking for:

    Coin Grader
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    harbonharbon Posts: 59
    Ah thats the site! Thanks.
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    ElectricEyeElectricEye Posts: 2,354
    AU53
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    K6AZK6AZ Posts: 9,295 ✭
    You're welcome.

    Hey EE, that icon sure looks familiar. image
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    DorkGirlDorkGirl Posts: 9,994 ✭✭✭
    Hold the coins under a good light source, then tip them back and forth. If there are tiny scratches like we can see in your pictures, they have been cleaned. They are still nice coins, especially the tough dates, but will not sell for as much as an original one.
    Becky

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